Forgetful
by KateCarter
Summary: B'Elanna loses her memory. No one dies!


Forgetful  
  
By Kate O'Riley  
  
Codes: P/T  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Time: Season 7, right after "Lineage"  
  
Archiving: Fine, just let me know.  
  
Disclaimer: All hail Great and Mighty Paramount, owner of all characters and Star Trek. But I own the story.  
  
Thanks to Erin, whose expert skill at knowing what happened when is, as always, a great help to me.  
  
This story is one I've pondered doing a long time. I finally gave up pondering it and sat down to writing it. The result?  
  
Please be patient. Normally I write humor. Torturing people is not my forte.  
  
=/\=  
  
The red alert klaxons blared. The ship shook suddenly, sending Kathryn Janeway flying to the floor. Chakotay picked her up. She gave him a brief smile of thanks before getting back to business.  
  
"Damage report!" she snapped.  
  
"The Borg cube has managed to knock inertia dampeners offline." Tuvok responded.  
  
"I think I could've figured that out on my own." Janeway said. The ship gave another violent rock. "Bridge to Engineering. Have you gotten the warp drive back online yet?"  
  
"I've almost got it Captain." Down in Engineering, B'Elanna Torres's fingers were moving so fast they were almost a blur. "Another few sec-"  
  
The console she was working at suddenly and violently exploded. She was thrown back several feet, hitting her head sharply against the opposite console.  
  
"B'Elanna?" Janeway bit her lip. What had happened?  
  
Down at the helm, Tom Paris jerked his head up. What had happened to her? To the baby? He was so distracted by his thoughts that he could barely concentrate on piloting. As a result, the ship shook from a direct hit.  
  
"Chakotay, take the helm." Janeway said, noticing Tom's distress. "Engineering, what's happening?"  
  
Vorik's voice came back. "Lt. Torres has been injured. Lt. Carey has taken over restoring the warp drive."  
  
"Got it!" came back faintly from Carey.  
  
"Chakotay, take us to warp. Mr. Paris, get down to Sickbay." The last didn't need to be said. Tom was already running for the turbolift.  
  
=/\=  
  
Tom hovered nearby as the Doctor worked on B'Elanna, silently handing him the needed tools. Finally, the Doctor turned to him.  
  
"Well?" Tom prompted him. Seeing the panicked look in the man's eyes, the Doctor quickly started talking.  
  
"She suffered second and third degree burns on forty percent of her body and a severe concussion. I've repaired the damage, and both she and your daughter should be fine." He told him.  
  
Tom visibly sank with relief. "Can we wake her up?"  
  
The Doctor shook his head. "It'd be best for her to get the sleep."  
  
Tom sighed. "OK. She's OK." He mumbled to himself. "They're both OK."  
  
Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay coming in saved the Doctor from having to see if Tom had gone nuts because he was talking to himself.  
  
"Is she OK?" Janeway asked him. The Doctor told them what he'd told Tom.  
  
"That's good." Chakotay said, looking over to where Tom sat holding her hand and watching her.  
  
Tom looked over at them. "I think she's waking up." he said.  
  
The three hurried over to the biobed. B'Elanna's eyes were fluttering open.  
  
It took her a minute to get adjusted to the light. "Where am I?" she asked.  
  
"You're in Sickbay." Janeway told her.  
  
She looked at Janeway and the Doctor in confusion. "Chakotay, who are these people? And what is Tom Paris doing here? This looks like a Starfleet ship!" Her lip curled into a snarl.  
  
Chakotay, Janeway, Tom, and the Doctor looked at each other, worry written on their faces. To be accurate though, it was sheer panic on Tom's.  
  
=/\=  
  
B'Elanna looked around in growing panic. "What's going on? Chakotay, did we get captured?"  
  
Tom picked up her hand. "B'Elanna, it's OK…"  
  
She jerked her hand away and slapped him. "Don't touch me, Paris!"  
  
Tom jerked away, clearly hurt. Janeway could only imagine what he had to have been thinking.  
  
Janeway took her turn. "B'Elanna, you don't remember Voyager?" she asked cautiously.  
  
"What do you think? Who the heck are you?" B'Elanna demanded.  
  
Chakotay stepped in. "B'Elanna, this is Captain Janeway, this is the Doctor," he said, indicating the two. He hesitated a second before continuing, "And this is Tom Paris, your husband."  
  
"My *what*?" B'Elanna bolted up into a sitting position. "Tell me you're crazy. It's all a big prank or something."  
  
The look on Chakotay's face told her it wasn't.  
  
B'Elanna sank back down onto the biobed. "OK, what's up with my stomach now? It feels funny."  
  
"That would be our daughter." Tom told her quietly.  
  
B'Elanna stared as if he'd grown another head. "Look, I'm sure this is all great for you, but I really don't appreciate one day being on a Maquis ship, then waking up and being told I'm on a Starfleet ship, married to Tom Paris, and expecting a baby. The joke is not funny!"  
  
The Doctor pulled the other three away. "It'd probably be best to let her get some rest. We'll talk in my office."  
  
=/\=  
  
Inside the Doctor's office, Tom paced back and forth frantically. "What's happened? What's wrong with her?" he asked. The anguish on his face was almost too much to bear.  
  
"She's suffering from amnesia." The Doctor said quietly.  
  
"Is there any hope of her recovering her memory?" Janeway asked.  
  
The Doctor frowned and looked down at the floor. "There's a chance. It may take a few hours, a few days, maybe even years. There's also a chance she may never remember."  
  
Tom felt as if he'd been punched in the gut. "What now?"  
  
"We start trying to remind her of the events that have happened over the last few years."  
  
"Can she leave Sickbay?" Chakotay said.  
  
"She is able to leave, yes. Her body is fully healed."  
  
"All right, here's what we'll do. Chakotay, Doctor, I'm calling a senior staff meeting. Include Lt. Carey. He'll be in charge of Engineering until she's competent to work again. Tom, I want you to take her around the ship. Engineering, the mess hall, Astrometrics, everywhere. End at your quarters." Janeway said quietly.  
  
"Captain, with all due respect, what makes you think I should show her around? She obviously hates me." The bitterness in Tom's voice was plain.  
  
"Tom, if you show her around, maybe it will help trigger her memories. You know her better then anyone else on this ship, and vice versa. Somewhere in her brain is the old B'Elanna. It's our job to bring her back out." Janeway stood from the chair she'd been sitting in. "Dismissed."  
  
=/\=  
  
"This is Engineering." Tom told B'Elanna as they walked through the doors.  
  
"I can see that." She sniffed disdainfully, but her reaction gave way to one of astonishment as she took a good look at the warp core. "Wow…" she breathed. "And I get to work here?"  
  
"You've been working here for nearly seven years as their much-beloved chief engineer." Tom said.  
  
She glanced at him, eyes wide. "I was chief?!?!?!"  
  
"Yep, you are the chief engineer." He neglected using "was".  
  
B'Elanna asked him a question filled with so much technobabble he couldn't understand it. He pointed to Carey. "You'd better ask him."  
  
Soon she was deep in conversation with Carey. Tom leaned against a console and watched her.  
  
She was gesturing with her arms, clearly excited. She brushed back a lock of hair and returned to the conversation. To Tom, she looked just like she had when he'd come and seen her yesterday. She'd teased him some, called him "Helmboy" and "Pig", and given him a kiss before he'd reluctantly went back to the bridge.  
  
He blinked back sudden tears. What he wouldn't give for her to be just like she was yesterday.  
  
=/\=  
  
Tom was feeling a bit hesitant as he and B'Elanna walked to their final destination; their quarters.  
  
He triggered the door open for B'Elanna. She walked into the quarters, looking around warily.  
  
He wasn't quite sure what she'd do. So he also was wary as she walked in.  
  
B'Elanna walked over to the table where they'd put the growing collection of baby equipment. She picked up a miniature Toby the Targ Tom had replicated and turned it over in her hands. She frowned. "It looks familiar…" she murmured.  
  
Tom moved behind her. "I replicated a bigger version of it for your birthday once." He said quietly. A flare of hope leapt up.  
  
She picked up the small stuffed pig he'd also replicated. Tom had thought it was symbolic of him and B'Elanna. A targ, a Klingon animal, and a pig, B'Elanna's nickname for him.  
  
B'Elanna turned to him suddenly. "This is real." she whispered.  
  
Tom didn't move. "Yes." he whispered back.  
  
She looked at him, searching his face. He looked into her eyes, seeing the emotions rolling there. Fear, anger, confusion, panic. She didn't know much about what was going on. Oh, yes, she knew she'd lost her memory. She was beginning to accept that she'd become an officer on a Starfleet ship. But she was still confused, having woken up with no memory of the past seven years, married and pregnant. Married to a man whom she'd considered scum seven years ago, nonetheless. Finding that her life had taken such an abrupt about-face from what it had been.  
  
She averted her eyes. "I think I'm tired. It's late. Where's the bedroom?"  
  
Tom led the way. He helped her get settled. Holding her pajamas, she stared expectantly at him. "Well?"  
  
"Well what?" Tom asked, confused.  
  
"Well, are you going to get out so I can change?"  
  
"Oh, um, sure." Tom quickly escaped from the bedroom.  
  
=/\=  
  
Tom stuck his head back into the room a moment later, eyes firmly closed. He didn't want to spook B'Elanna. "Can I come in?"  
  
"All right."  
  
Tom came in, moving to the dresser to get his own pajamas. "Um, do you want me to sleep on the couch?" he asked awkwardly.  
  
"Please."  
  
Tom changed in the head then crossed through the bedroom, stopping only long enough to silently pick up his pillow. There were no spare blankets. With the climate control, they didn't need extras.  
  
B'Elanna watched him go, then turned back to her book. But her mind kept turning back to Tom. For some reason, she was drawn to him. She looked at the other side of the bed. It seemed strangely empty.  
  
She finally ordered the lights off and went to a restless sleep.  
  
=/\=  
  
B'Elanna woke up in the middle of the night needing a drink. She carefully slipped out of bed and into the main area of the quarters.  
  
She stopped as she entered. Tom was lying on the couch, asleep. She watched him as he slept. Watched as his chest rose and fell with each breath.  
  
She'd been able to tell today, in the way he acted, that he loved her. It was so weird for her. To wake up and have a totally different life…  
  
Walking over to the replicator, she quietly ordered a glass of water. She sipped it as she watched Tom and thought about the day's events.  
  
Suddenly, Tom moved some. His eyes blinked as he woke up. "B'Elanna?" he asked. "Can I get something for you?"  
  
B'Elanna shook her head. "No thanks, I'm all right." She said softly. "Um…well, you looked like you were cold."  
  
Tom shrugged. "A little bit, I guess."  
  
"Would you like a blanket?"  
  
"No, you need it more."  
  
B'Elanna looked at him. "Now I know that things are different."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
She gave a slight smile. "The old Tom Paris probably would have wanted to know if I went along with it."  
  
He gave a brief laugh. "Yeah, you're probably right. But I've changed a lot. So have you, for that matter."  
  
"Yeah…" She waited a second before speaking. "So, do you want the blanket? I guess you can have the half of the bed that goes with it."  
  
He smiled at her. "I'd like that. And no funny moves, I promise."  
  
"I believe it."  
  
=/\=  
  
B'Elanna woke up slightly disoriented. For a minute, she wasn't sure where she was or why Tom Paris was next to her. Then she remembered.  
  
She quietly got up and dressed in some civilian clothes, then slipped out of the quarters. Where had Tom said the mess hall was?  
  
Deck 2. She spotted the turbolift and walked in, giving it the order to go there.  
  
She walked along the corridor until she saw the mess hall.  
  
It was still fairly early, but several crew members were eating. She accepted a plate of food from the alien behind the counter – what was his name? Oh, yes, Neelix – and walked over to where she'd spotted Chakotay sitting.  
  
"Mind if I sat down?" she asked.  
  
"Feel free." He said, indicating the chair opposite. She sat down and frowned at the plate. "Is this stuff edible?"  
  
"As long as you don't try the blue glop." Chakotay said. "The red fruit isn't too bad, though."  
  
"So, Chakotay, what's your post?" B'Elanna asked.  
  
"I'm first officer." He said, swallowing.  
  
"And what's Tom's?"  
  
"He's conn. Best pilot on the ship, actually."  
  
B'Elanna sat there digesting the information. There was so much to get used to. And she'd known it all before, so presumably she'd learn it again. But still…  
  
"I better get back up to the bridge." Chakotay said, standing up. "My shift doesn't start for an hour, but I have some work to do. I'll see you, B'Elanna."  
  
She nodded to him, then settled down to eating. She took a chance and tried he blue, grainy glop on her plate. She immediately spit it out into a napkin. It tasted horrible!  
  
"Can I sit here?" A man asked. He didn't look familiar to B'Elanna, so he hadn't been Maquis. He had one pip, indicating an ensign, and had a yellow uniform.  
  
"Sure, go ahead." She said.  
  
"Thanks Maquis."  
  
She looked at him, frowning. "Maquis?"  
  
The man frowned. "I'm sorry. I slipped. My name's Harry Kim. We were – are – friends. Maquis is what I called you, and you called me Starfleet."  
  
"Why did I do that?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "Goes back to when we were both captured by the Caretaker. But I guess you don't remember that."  
  
B'Elanna shook her head. "No, I don't. I seem to have forgotten a lot."  
  
"Yeah, Tom told me." Harry said.  
  
"Speak of the devil." B'Elanna commented.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
She smiled, "Oh, Tom just came through the door."  
  
Harry twisted in his seat and waved, beckoning for Tom to join them.  
  
Tom slid into a empty chair. "Harry, B'Elanna." He started shoving food into his mouth like he couldn't get enough. B'Elanna smiled. "Pig." She said.  
  
His head shot up. "What did you call me?" he asked. He sounded excited.  
  
B'Elanna looked confused. "Pig?" she said uncertainly.  
  
"She called me a pig!" Tom told Harry excitedly. Harry grinned. "I know, I was right here."  
  
B'Elanna was even more confused. "What? Why is he excited that I called him a pig?"  
  
"Pig was a nickname of yours for him." Harry said.  
  
"Oh." B'Elanna said. She picked at her food. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but I just said it because you reminded me of one, eating your food like that."  
  
"Oh." Tom said. "Yeah, I guess I was."  
  
"Janeway to Torres."  
  
B'Elanna jumped. "Um, Torres here?"  
  
"B'Elanna, I would like to talk to you. Please get Tom to show you to my ready room."  
  
"Um, OK. I'll be right there."  
  
"Good. Janeway out."  
  
Tom stood up. "Come on. I was planning to get some time in at the helm anyway. Earn my keep." He took B'Elanna's plate and put it in the recycler with his own. "See you, Harry."  
  
=/\=  
  
"Do you remember where the bridge is?" Tom asked as they walked to the turbolift.  
  
"I would guess it would be Deck One. That's the standard for Starfleet ships." She said.  
  
"Yep." They were silent as they walked into the turbolift. Tom said "Deck One", and the lift hummed as it went up a deck.  
  
"Captain's ready room is right over there." Tom pointed to the door on the right.  
  
"Thanks." B'Elanna walked over to the door. Several people on the bridge were familiar. Tuvok was at security, and she saw Dalby at the helm.  
  
The door hissed shut behind B'Elanna as she entered the ready room. Captain Janeway was sitting behind the desk, reading a padd. She looked up as B'Elanna entered.  
  
"Hello, B'Elanna. Have a seat. Can I get you anything?" Janeway stood, pointing to the couch and heading to the replicator.  
  
"No thanks." B'Elanna took the seat she was shown. "You wanted to see me?"  
  
Janeway ordered a cup of coffee and sat down. "I wanted to talk to you. What's your opinion on your current…condition?"  
  
To tell the truth, it hurt Janeway to see B'Elanna like this. The normally self-assured woman was now confused, on a ship that was filled with mostly strangers. But the people hadn't been strangers to her less then twenty four hours ago. Chakotay had mentioned that she'd come into the mess hall by herself, which was probably good. But still…  
  
"Well, I really wish I could tell you my full thought on my current condition, Captain, but I can't remember them myself." She gave a slight smile. "I was planning to read my logs from the past few years today, and if it's all right with you, I'd like to wander around in Engineering some. I might have forgotten most things, but I still remember how to be an engineer. Maybe I can help them some."  
  
Janeway nodded. "That might help. You should also go by Sickbay. The Doctor probably will want to see you again."  
  
B'Elanna frowned. "Where's Sickbay again?"  
  
"Deck 5." Janeway said. She looked hard at the other woman. Somehow, it was all too easy to imagine herself in such a place. Not knowing her own ship, her own crew. She gave an inward shudder at the thought. She continued to talk.  
  
"I think it would be a good idea if you tried to do things on your own today. We need Tom at the helm, and you should try to learn as much on your own as possible. The ship's computer can help, and so can any crewmen."  
  
B'Elanna nodded. "I wasn't planning on doing much today. Tom showed me where Engineering was, and I know where my…our quarters are. I guess I'll just add Sickbay to the list of things to do."  
  
Janeway stood and returned the now-empty coffee cup. "You'll figure it out again in no time. Hopefully though, your memory will return first."  
  
B'Elanna nodded and stood. "Oh, and could you tell me something?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"What's the name of the doctor?"  
  
=/\=  
  
B'Elanna stood and stretched. She'd been reading old log entries for the last three hours. In that time, she'd discovered how she got in the Delta Quadrant, she'd broken Joe Carey's nose, she'd broken (or at least bent) the Prime Directive, that Seska had been a Cardassian spy and left the ship, she'd been split in half, had another person give their memories to her, had been put, along with the rest of the crew, on a deserted planet by some race called the Kazon, that Janeway had tried an alliance with the Borg, and that there was a former member of the Borg on the ship. So now, once her muscles had had sufficient stretching, she sat back into the chair and kept reading.  
  
1 Personal log, stardate  
  
Today was my favorite holiday. You guessed it. The Day of Honor. I'm still trying to decide whether it was better or worse then usual.  
  
Minor things seemed to be going wrong all day. Chakotay told me Seven of Nine wants a post in Engineering. We ran into yet another race, the Caatati, who wanted thorium isotopes, food, and other supplies. We gave them to one ship, went on our way, and then another ship came and wanted them too. Captain Janeway told them we didn't have enough supplies to give them what they needed. So they decided to bring in some of their other ships and either make us give them the stuff or take it themselves.  
  
Then that stupid warp core decided to act up. Again. We were forced to eject the warp core. It didn't explode, so Tom and I had to go get it in the shuttle.  
  
Well, then the Caatati decided they wanted our warp core. So one of their ships with its jury-rigged tractor beam tried grabbing it. I knew that it'd explode the way they were doing it. Tom and I tried telling them that, and we locked our own tractor beam onto it. I'm still not sure what happened, but the computer was telling us that the shuttle was two minutes away from blowing up. So we got ourselves into EVA suits and beamed the only place we could. Outside. Into space. Just in time, because when we were materializing, the shuttle blew. We figured, well, OK, no shuttle, we'll just sit here until Voyager figures out something's wrong and comes to rescue us.  
  
Would that it had been that simple. Our suits got hit by some ion turbulence. Instead of having enough air to last a day, like they normally would have had, they had enough air for less then a hour. Tom's suit was leaking too, so I linked my air supply with his to share our air.  
  
It kept getting worse. We had about two minutes of air left. Both of us were nearly unconscious from lack of oxygen. Finally, I told Tom one of my greatest secrets. That I loved him. That was when we were both positive we'd be dead in a few minutes, and that, of course, was also about two seconds before we saw something moving. Coming towards us. Naturally, it was Voyager.  
  
Oh, we got our warp core back. Luckily, it didn't blow up. But I'm still trying to figure out if today was a good day, or a bad day. On the one hand, well, at least I didn't die. And when I thought I would, at least I knew I had the pleasure of going with Tom. On the other hand, I'm not sure I'm possibly going to be able to look at Tom Paris ever again.  
  
B'Elanna sat back. That seemed to have been quite an adventure. Shame she couldn't remember it. But, considering she was married to Tom Paris, she'd obviously been able to look at him again.  
  
She stood up again and stretched. She was hungry. She still wanted to work some, and she had to run by Sickbay. She'd finish reading her logs tonight and tomorrow.  
  
=/\=  
  
She was eating something that had looked positively gross – and, quite frankly, tasted only a little bit better then it looked – when a blond woman sat down across from her. The woman's hair was twisted up tightly against the back of her head, and she had some kind of implant above her left eye. B'Elanna guessed this was Seven of Nine, the Borg.  
  
"Hi…Seven?" she asked.  
  
"That is correct. Have you recovered your memory, Lieutenant?" The woman's voice was very…efficient.  
  
B'Elanna shook her head. "No. I was just guessing from what I read in my logs. I discovered I'm something of a writer. My logs have been extremely helpful."  
  
Seven gave a slight nod. "That is good." She hesitated a minute. "And Lt. Paris?"  
  
B'Elanna felt a brief flash of…could it be jealousy? She disliked the other woman asking about Tom, for some reason. "He's doing as well as could be expected, I suppose."  
  
She shoved her chair back and stood up. "I better get going. I have an appointment with the Doctor. See you." She shoved her plate into the recycler and walked through the door.  
  
=/\=  
  
"No problems?" The Doctor asked B'Elanna as he scanned her.  
  
"None. Except for the memory. Otherwise, I'm fine. Can I get out of here now?" she asked impatiently. She was perched on a biobed.  
  
The Doctor gave a dry chuckle. "Well, the wanting to get out of sickbay is normal enough. You can go. Report back here same time tomorrow." He had to raise his voice for the last part – B'Elanna was already on her way out the door.  
  
=/\=  
  
"OK, I'm here. What can I do?" B'Elanna asked briskly as she walked through the door into Engineering. Carey stared at her in surprise. "Lieutenant! I didn't hear your memory was back."  
  
"It isn't. But I've only forgotten Voyager, not how to be an engineer. What can I do?"  
  
"Are you sure you're all right to work?"  
  
She sighed, half frustrated, half impatient. "I. Am. Fine. Now give me something to do! Or do I have to remind you that according to Tom Paris and my own logs, I outrank you?"  
  
Carey gave a apologetic smile. "Sorry Lieutenant. The warp core can use some diagnostics. You can use that console." He pointed to one.  
  
"Thanks." She turned and started working. A moment later she looked up. "Carey, I'm fine, really." Her voice was tinged with impatience.  
  
"Sorry Lieutenant." Carey said again. "I'll just go help Vorik."  
  
"Do that."  
  
She continued working but was interrupted again a few moments later. She sighed and turned. "Yes?"  
  
Instead of Carey, Tom stood there. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."  
  
She shook her head. "Don't worry. Running warp core diagnostics isn't much work anyway."  
  
"Are you sure you're up to it?"  
  
With that, B'Elanna's temper snapped. Luckily, she had enough sense to keep from making a scene in Engineering. Instead, she grabbed Tom's arm and dragged him into the corridor.  
  
"Look, I am sick of being asked if I feel up to things! I am fine!" she snapped.  
  
"No, you're not. You've forgotten the past seven years. Memory loss is not a good thing. And you've probably forgotten the fact that the Doc trained me as a medic, so I know something about it!" Tom snapped back.  
  
"I don't care! Physically, I'm fine. I've retained all my memories from before. I'm still a fully competent engineer! And now, to my mind, I've suddenly been thrust into a situation with just enough familiar elements to keep me on my toes even more! And now, I'm suddenly married, having a baby, and I'm in the Delta Quadrant when I was none of those things in, what was my perspective, two days ago! Yes, this might be hard for you, and I'm sorry for that, but think about me! I do not need to be wrapped in cotton and kept until my memory comes back or I die, whichever comes first. I need to be doing the things I've always loved, which is working. And Tom Paris or no Tom Paris, I intend to do that!"  
  
He was silent for a minute. Then he sighed. "B'Elanna, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be that way, and I don't want you to feel I'm ignoring your feelings. But you've got to think about my place too. My wife is hit in the head, and she loses her memory and can barely stand me. My whole world is turned upside down in the space of minutes. So you'll have to forgive me if I'm a bit upset!" He turned and stormed off down the corridor.  
  
B'Elanna watched him disappear, then turned and went back into Engineering. She began running full systems diagnostics to keep her mind off what happened. It didn't work. And part of her wanted to cry.  
  
=/\=  
  
At 2100 hours, when beta shift was halfway through their shift, B'Elanna was still working where she could in Engineering. She was sitting by a console, idly running every diagnostic she could think of, when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Chakotay asked. He was wearing the expression she'd gotten more or less used to seeing on people's faces. The "oh, should you really be doing this?" look.  
  
"I'm working. What's it look like?" she snapped. She'd grown more and more irritated over the last few hours.  
  
"It looks like you're upset about something." Chakotay said.  
  
"I'm fine." She turned back to the console.  
  
"No, B'Elanna, you're not. Something's bothering you." Chakotay said firmly.  
  
She turned and looked at him. "I'm fine." The words were almost a growl.  
  
"B'Elanna…"  
  
She sighed. "Fine. You win. I had a fight with Tom. Happy?"  
  
"No. What was the fight about?"  
  
She sighed again. "What do you think? The one topic that people have been asking about for the last two days. My memory, or rather, my lack of it."  
  
"What about it?" Chakotay probed.  
  
"He just doesn't get it!" She turned around to face Chakotay again. "He just doesn't get it that as hard as it might be for him, it's a whole lot harder for me!" In a torrent of words, she told Chakotay what had happened.  
  
He was silent for a minute. "It seems to me you were both wrong."  
  
"What do you know?"  
  
"A lot, believe it or not. You might remember that I'm your former captain, your current commander, and your friend." Chakotay said calmly.  
  
B'Elanna closed her eyes for a minute and took a few breaths to calm herself down. "I'm sorry Chakotay. I've just been…irritated since the fight."  
  
"Maybe some sleep would help. Why don't you go get some?"  
  
"That's part of it! Chakotay, I'm…I just don't want to have to face Tom yet. And if he's in our quarters, I'll have to."  
  
"Did you ask the computer where he was?"  
  
She shrugged. "No. I guess I forgot I could do that too. Computer, where is Lt. Paris?"  
  
"Lt. Paris is in Holodeck One."  
  
"That's one of the things he likes to do. B'Elanna, I'm guessing he probably feels the same way you do. I would suggest you draw on your Klingon half's courage and go ask him to forgive you." Chakotay said.  
  
B'Elanna looked at her friend. "Maybe you're right…" she said softly. "Maybe you're right."  
  
=/\=  
  
B'Elanna entered the Holodeck and found herself in some sort of bar. No one seemed to notice her. She spotted Tom right away. He was playing pool. The woman behind the bar was watching as he knocked a ball into the hole. He tried another move, and missed.  
  
"Ah, Tommy, you're off your game tonight?" The woman behind the bar inquired.  
  
"Yeah, had a fight with someone." He said quietly, waiting while his opponent made a shot.  
  
B'Elanna took a deep breath and stepped forward. "And that someone is here to make it up to you."  
  
Tom's head shot up from where he was preparing to shoot. "B'Elanna?"  
  
She gave a slight nod and walked over to him. "I came to say…I'm sorry." The last came out in a whisper.  
  
Tom propped his cue up against the pool table and hugged B'Elanna. "I'm sorry too. I acted like, well, like a pig."  
  
B'Elanna laid her head against his chest. "Tom, I don't want to hurt you. This is just so…confusing."  
  
"That's all right. I should have been thinking more of you. I was just thinking of me."  
  
B'Elanna looked at him. "Tom, I think it'll be over with soon. I just have this feeling…that my memory will be back. And it won't take months or years."  
  
He grinned. "What, did you switch occupations? Are you now the ship's fortune teller?"  
  
"No, I think I prefer engineering. I get my own office that way." She grinned. Her expression went back to serious almost immediately. "I really do have that feeling though."  
  
"B'Elanna, I hope for both our sakes that you're right." He told her. "I really do."  
  
=/\=  
  
B'Elanna quickly learned the ship's layout and other information. Within a week, she was able to return to full duty.  
  
A week later, she was climbing down a Jeffries tube with Carey right above her. Her hand slipped suddenly. She was jolted by the shock. Her feet slipped off the ladder's rung, and she held on by one hand only.  
  
"Carey!" she called. Lt. Carey looked down just in time to see her fingers slip. She fell two decks below, to the bottom of the Jeffries tube.  
  
Lt. Carey slammed his hand into his comm badge. "Medical emergency!"  
  
=/\=  
  
For the second time in less then two weeks, Tom Paris raced into sickbay. His heart was in his throat as he spotted B'Elanna on the biobed.  
  
The Doctor was busy working on her, but he turned his head long enough to see who it was.  
  
"She's suffered a fractured femur and broke her shoulder. She also has a nasty concussion. But she'll be fine. She was rather lucky. The fall could have easily killed her."  
  
Tom closed his eyes. He'd only felt this grateful a couple times before, once when she'd had the accident a couple weeks before.  
  
The Doctor finished his work and stepped back, a look of pride on his face. "There. Good as new."  
  
"Thanks." Tom stepped over beside the biobed and picked up her hand. "B'Elanna?"  
  
She moaned and opened her eyes. "Tom…"she whispered. "I remember."  
  
Tom could feel his heart beating so fast he thought it would burst. "You do?"  
  
"I remember it all. Everything that's happened." She gave a weak smile. "Like when I was assimilated by the Borg, or the shuttle race, or the incident with Alice…"  
  
"You do remember some *good* memories too, right?"  
  
"Hey, the shuttle race wasn't bad. Even if we did get nearly blown up." B'Elanna squeezed his hand. "I liked how it turned out."  
  
Tom smiled. "Best prize I ever got."  
  
"Oh, shut up, Helmboy."  
  
"You don't know how happy I am to here you say that." As Tom Paris hugged his wife, he was shouting thanks in his heart. Thanks for his life, thanks for his ship, thanks for his wife back. 


End file.
